Calgary wins title but fans say Grey Cup was also a big win for Edmonton

Jada Allibhai, 10, left, helps carry the Grey Cup into Commonwealth Stadium with Jeff McWhinney from the Canadian Football Hall of Fame prior to the start of the Grey Cup, in Edmonton Sunday November 25, 2018. Photo by David BloomDavid Bloom / Postmedia

It was so good, Airdrie resident Dennis Schell might even come back to Edmonton some time.

Moments after the Calgary Stampeders emerged as Grey Cup victors Sunday evening, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16, jubilant Stamps fan Schell put aside the Edmonton-Calgary rivalry for a moment to concede the host city had showed him a good time.

“I was worried right to the end, because until the last couple seasons, they’ve choked right at the end,” he said of his team.

The Stamps’ Grey Cup success was also Crystal Sharron’s favourite moment of the night.

“Oh my God, it was so awesome,” said Sharron, who travelled from Whitecourt for the bash. She was walking down the street, ready to find other fans to celebrate with.

“(The Eskimos) didn’t make it, so keep it in Alberta,” she said.

Cup enthusiasm

CFL fans proudly displayed their devotion for their teams in Commonwealth Stadium stands, including the Grey Cup “Fun police,” who sported matching helmets and badges to ensure merriment standards were upheld.

Football fans hoist a homemade cup topped with a toy horse before first half CFL football action between the Ottawa Redblacks and the Calgary Stampeders at the 106th Grey Cup in Edmonton on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.Darryl Dyck /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Stampeders fans hoisted a tin foil replica Grey Cup with a toy horse on top, a Redblacks fan wore plaid face paint in team colours, and a man dressed in an inflatable football costume ambled around the stadium.

No matter their stripes, Grey Cup revellers seemed to be fans of the Edmonton experience.

At a tailgate party Sunday afternoon where the crowd walked the Grey Cup from the Expo Centre to Commonwealth Stadium, Manitoba resident Phil Paulicelli was a standout in his Winnipeg Blue Bombers gear.

Paulicelli, who says he’s been to 10 Grey Cups since 1982, said the hospitality in Edmonton was warm, and he found the LRT to be a handy way to get around. Paulicelli also thought the weather was an improvement on past cups he’s attended — notably, a particularly chilly cup in Winnipeg in 1991, when the mercury plunged to -16 C.

That year, while outside, he and his friends had painted their bodies red for the Calgary Stampeders, but when they went inside for a pre-game event, the paint wouldn’t dry.

“So everywhere you walked in people, everyone was getting red paint on them,” he said.

Paulicelli opted to go paint free this year.

A Calgary Stampeders fan prior to first half CFL football action against the Ottawa Redblacks at the 106th Grey Cup in Edmonton on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.Darryl Dyck /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Family friendly

Bound to be disappointed is Paul Andrusek, who travelled to Edmonton from Ottawa with his family to cheer on the Redblacks.

On Sunday afternoon, he said the pre-game festival events have been “fantastic,” but the best part of the day would be when the Redblacks win the cup. They didn’t.

Edmonton, however, did not disappoint.

“I’ve been to 14 Grey Cups and it’s the best setup I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Calgary fan Brian McCue and Ottawa fan Keith Graves ham it up prior to the start of the 106th Grey Cup between the Ottawa Redblacks and Calgary Stampeders at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018.David_Bloom David Bloom /
David Bloom/Postmedia

Other fans praised the family-friendly vibes at cup-related events.

Sharron said she was surprised by the variety of activities for different ages that were offered at the Grey Cup Festival on Jasper Avenue.

Peter and Leanne Hughes, who brought their infant son Wyatt, said the celebration was worth the trip from Westlock, even though they’re Eskimos fans. They’d met people from across the country and around the world, Peter Hughes said.

“I’ve been to Grey Cups in Toronto, and this one, it’s a lot friendlier. A lot more community,” he said.

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